Canadian Accused of Aiding Al Qaeda

A federal indictment unsealed Wednesday charged a Minnesota man with conspiracy to provide material support to the Al Qaeda terrorist network. Authorities said the man acknowledged being at training camps in Afghanistan at the same time as Osama bin Laden.

Mohammed Abdullah Warsame, 30, a Canadian citizen of Somali descent, was charged in an indictment returned by a grand jury in Minneapolis.

The indictment alleges that from March 2000 until his arrest last month, Warsame conspired to provide material support and resources for Bin Laden’s terror network.

A related affidavit said Warsame admitted to FBI agents that he was at training camps in Afghanistan in 2000 and 2001 at the same time as Bin Laden. Neither the affidavit nor the indictment contained any other details about the alleged conspiracy.

“The charge against Warsame is a grim reminder that Al Qaeda, aided by agents and cells in this country, continues its shadowy efforts to destroy the lives and freedoms of the people in the United States,” said Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft.

Omar Jamal, a Twin Cities Somali advocate who has acted as a liaison to Warsame’s family, described their reaction to the charge: “They are devastated. They are emotional. They cannot convey anything.”

News reports have linked Warsame to terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui, who is the subject of the only U.S. prosecution related to the Sept. 11 attacks. Moussaoui also was arrested in Minnesota and now awaits trial in Virginia on federal conspiracy charges.